Magnetic field fluctuation for beam smoothing

ABSTRACT

The time-averaged ion beam profile of an ion beam for implanting ions on a work piece may be smoothed to reduce noise, spikes, peaks, and the like and to improve dosage uniformity. Auxiliary magnetic field devices, such as electromagnets, may be located along an ion beam path and may be driven by periodic signals to generate a fluctuating magnetic field to smooth the ion beam profile (i.e., beam current density profile). The auxiliary magnetic field devices may be positioned outside the width and height of the ion beam, and may generate a non-uniform fluctuating magnetic field that may be strongest near the center of the ion beam where the highest concentration of ions may be positioned. The fluctuating magnetic field may cause the beam profile shape to change continuously, thereby averaging out noise over time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/757,068 filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 25,2013, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates generally to dopant implantation of awork piece and, more specifically, to smoothing a time-averaged ionimplantation beam profile by subjecting the beam to a fluctuatingmagnetic field.

2. Related Art

Dopant implantation, such as ion implantation, is a process used infabricating integrated semiconductor devices wherebyconductivity-altering impurities, such as ions, are introduced into awork piece, such as a silicon wafer, a semiconductor plate, a glassplate, or the like. An ion implanter or ion implantation tool mayinclude an ion source to generate the impurity material and a massanalyzer to form an ion implant beam with ions of a specificmass-to-charge ratio. Other components of an ion implanter may includeaccelerators, decelerators, magnetic field devices, electrical fielddevices, beam current measurement systems, and scan systems. Among thesecomponents, magnetic field devices (e.g., magnetic multipoles) may beintegral for manipulating the beam to achieve a certain profile forrequired dose uniformity on the work piece. For example, a spot beam mayrequire a beam profile shaped like a Gaussian curve (i.e., theconcentration of ions may be highest in the center, and the ionconcentration may fall off quickly as the distance from the centerincreases).

However, in the example of a spot beam, the desired Gaussiancurve-shaped beam profile may not always be readily achievable due tothe limitations of beam tuning, and specifically the difficulties ofremoving noise, spikes, peaks, shoulders, and the like from a beamprofile (i.e., correcting ion beam portions with ion concentration thatis too high or too low). In addition, obtaining the desired beam profilemay come at the expense of sacrificing beam current or increasing beamtuning time, which may result in an overall decrease in productivity.Accordingly, smoothing an ion implantation beam profile is desiredwithout sacrificing beam current and without sacrificing productivityfrom increased beam tuning time.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In one exemplary embodiment, a method for implanting ions in a workpiece may use an ion implantation tool having an ion beam source, a massanalyzing magnet, a plurality of separately driven electromagnets, andone or more separately driven auxiliary electromagnets. The method mayinclude generating a beam of ions with the ion beam source. The methodmay further include driving the plurality of separately drivenelectromagnets to generate a magnetic field to shape an ion beam profileof the ion beam and driving the one or more separately driven auxiliaryelectromagnets with a periodic signal to generate a fluctuating magneticfield. The fluctuating magnetic field may cause the ion beam profileshape to change continuously to smooth a time-averaged ion beam profileof the ion beam. The method may also include guiding the ion beam alongan ion beam path toward a work piece using the mass analyzing magnet toimplant ions on the work piece.

The method may further include driving a set of multipole magnets tocollimate the ion beam. The plurality of electromagnets and the one ormore auxiliary electromagnets may be positioned on the ion beam pathbefore the set of mulitpole magnets. The one or more auxiliaryelectromagnets may be positioned outside a height and a width of the ionbeam. Four auxiliary electromagnets may be used, with each positioned oneach end of a pair of multipole magnets, and a set of the plurality ofelectromagnets may also be positioned on each of the pair of multipolemagnets. The ion implantation tool may further include a controller todrive the plurality of electromagnets with direct current (DC) signalsto generate a quadrupole magnetic field for adjusting the ion beamprofile and to drive the auxiliary electromagnets with periodic signalsto generate the fluctuating magnetic field for smoothing the ion beamprofile. The fluctuating magnetic field may be strongest near the centerof the ion beam and may become weaker with distance from the center ofthe ion beam.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary ion implantation system incorporatingmultipole magnets for shaping an ion beam.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary ion implantationsystem incorporating multipole magnets for shaping an ion beam.

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary multipole magnets generating a spot beamhaving a Gaussian curve-shaped beam profile.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary scanning system.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a portion of an exemplary multipole magnetfor smoothing a time-averaged beam profile by subjecting it to afluctuating magnetic field.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate exemplary laminated cores for magneticfield devices.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C illustrate exemplary instantaneous beam profilesgenerated from a fluctuating magnetic field.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate exemplary time-averaged beam profiles withoutmagnetic field fluctuation for beam smoothing and with magnetic fieldfluctuation for beam smoothing, respectively.

FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C illustrate dose uniformity of exemplary work piecesdoped with 160 beam scans without magnetic field fluctuation, 80 beamscans without magnetic field fluctuation, and 80 beam scans withmagnetic field fluctuation, respectively.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary process for doping a work piece.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is presented to enable a person of ordinaryskill in the art to make and use the various embodiments. Descriptionsof specific systems, devices, methods, and applications are providedonly as examples. Various modifications to the examples described hereinwill be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and thegeneral principles defined herein may be applied to other examples andapplications without departing from the spirit and scope of the variousembodiments. Thus, the various embodiments are not intended to belimited to the examples described herein and shown, but are to beaccorded the scope consistent with the claims.

Ion implantation may be used to introduce ions into a work piece, suchas a silicon wafer, in fabricating integrated semiconductor devices. Asintegrated circuits shrink in size while also improving in speed andfunctionality, the tolerances for doping variations in silicon wafersare decreasing. Likewise, as the market for the millions of devicesincorporating integrated circuits becomes even more competitive, highdevice yields in fabrication are increasingly required to improveprofits. To accommodate tighter tolerances and higher required yields,increased demands are being placed on ion implantation tools. Inparticular, ion implantation tools more and more must provide work piecedoping that is substantially uniform across a work piece, to therebyyield the highest number possible of quality integrated circuits.

However, achieving substantially uniform doping across a work piecepresents unique challenges due to noise, spikes, peaks, shoulders, andthe like that may be present in ion implantation beam profiles (i.e.,beam current density profiles). To address these challenges, ionimplantation tools may be carefully tuned prior to implanting to ensurea high quality implantation beam profile. However, precision tuning cantake a significant amount of time, thereby decreasing implantationthroughput while wasting implantation tool resources and energy.Similarly, the unwanted effects of noise and the like may be reduced byincreasing the number of times a work piece is scanned with an ion beam,decreasing the distance between adjacent scans (e.g., decreasing thestep size from 30 mm to 24 mm or 18 mm), and/or lowering the current ofan ion beam. However, each of these approaches may also increase theamount of time it takes to complete doping of a work piece, therebyagain decreasing implantation throughput while wasting implantation toolresources and energy.

Thus, various embodiments are described below relating to one or moreauxiliary magnetic field devices that improve a time-averaged beamprofile by smoothing out noise, spikes, peaks, shoulders, and the likeover time. In one embodiment, auxiliary magnetic field devices, such aselectromagnets, may smooth a time-averaged ion beam profile bysubjecting the ion beam to a fluctuating magnetic field to continuouslychange (or in some cases to randomize) the instantaneous ion beamprofile. The auxiliary electromagnets may be configured such that thefluctuating magnetic field primarily affects ions near the center of thebeam where the highest concentration of ions is positioned. For example,the auxiliary electromagnets may be configured to primarily impact ionslocated at positions corresponding to the peak of a Gaussiancurve-shaped spot beam profile (i.e., ions where ion concentration ishighest). By affecting primarily the beam center with a fluctuatingmagnetic field, the position of ions near the center and theinstantaneous beam profile may be continuously varied over time, suchthat the time-averaged beam profile is smoothed to reduce noise, spikes,and the like.

A smoother time-averaged beam profile may increase dosage uniformityacross a work piece and thereby increase work piece yield. A smootherbeam profile may also allow for higher ion beam currents to be used forimplantation without significantly decreasing overall work piece dosageuniformity. Moreover, as various embodiments described herein may smooththe ion beam profile, tuning requirements may be relaxed, and the timeit takes to tune an ion beam may be reduced, thereby saving time andenergy while also increasing implantation throughput. Accordingly,various embodiments described herein may beneficially save time andenergy while smoothing an ion beam profile to provide improved workpiece doping uniformity, work piece yield, implantation throughput, andthe like.

In one embodiment, to smooth an ion beam profile, an ion implantationtool may be provided with one or more auxiliary electromagnets locatedanywhere along or on either side of an ion beam path (between an ionsource and a target, such as a silicon wafer). The one or more auxiliaryelectromagnets (e.g., coils of wire wrapped around a core) may be drivenby periodic signals (e.g., alternating current (AC) signals shaped assine waves, triangle waves, etc. that may be shifted relative to aground) during operation when beam profile smoothing is desired. Forexample, the auxiliary electromagnets may be driven with high frequencysignals anywhere from 50 to 300 Hz or higher. It should be noted thatthe frequency and amplitude of the signals may be adjusted depending ona particular implementation to achieve the desired magnetic fieldstrength. In other examples, a fluctuating signal may be used that maynot be strictly periodic (e.g., a randomized signal or other signal thatvaries over time).

The auxiliary electromagnets may preferably be positioned outside thewidth and/or height of an ion beam so as not to interfere with otherbeam modifying components (e.g., components for shaping, tuning,directing, or otherwise modifying the beam). When driven by a periodicsignal, the auxiliary electromagnets may generate a fluctuating magneticfield that may be strongest near the center of an ion beam. Thefluctuating magnetic field may cause the instantaneous beam profileshape to continuously change over time. For example, at a first instantin time, the beam may have a profile shape with a high concentration ofions in a first position. At a second instant in time, the fluctuatingmagnetic field may cause the beam to have a different beam profile shapewith a high concentration of ions in a second position. In someexamples, varied beam profile shapes may have high ion concentrationspositioned up to 20 mm from the center of the time-averaged beamprofile. In addition, the fluctuating magnetic field may causevariations (which may be random) in other portions of the beam profileshape other than portions with high ion concentrations. By continuouslyvarying the beam profile shape with the fluctuating magnetic field,noise, spikes, peaks, or the like that may be present in a singleinstantaneous beam profile may be averaged out over time from other beamprofile shapes with fewer or different spikes, peaks, noise, and thelike that may be in different positions. The continuously varying beamprofile shapes may thus produce a smooth time-averaged beam profileshape.

Referring first to FIG. 1, an exemplary ion implantation system 100 mayincorporate auxiliary multipole magnets, such as the outermostelectromagnets of multipole magnets 112, for smoothing an ion beamprofile. Ion implantation system 100 may include ion source 102,extraction optics 104, mass analyzing magnet 108, focusing system 110,controller 122, target chamber 126, and wafer transport system 132(e.g., robot arm 132). System 100 may also include a combination of beamdumps and electrodes 120 for absorbing unwanted ions and further shapingand guiding the ion beam, and Faraday beam profile measurement system124 located in target chamber 126 for measuring an ion beam profile.System 100 may further include beam dump 138 (which may also be aFaraday measuring device or other ion absorbing element) for absorbingions that are not absorbed or otherwise intercepted before reaching thetermination of beam path 118. One of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that many or all of the components of system 100 may be housedin a vacuum enclosure (not shown).

Ion source 102 may include, for example, a Bernas or a Freeman ionsource. Ion source 102 may generate desired ion species from electronionization of a source gas. For example, for semiconductor devicefabrication, the desired ion species may include boron, phosphorus, orarsenic (e.g., B+, P+, and As+). Ion source 102 and extraction optics104 may generate ion beam 106. Extraction optics 104 may include atleast one extraction electrode. An extraction voltage may be applied tothe at least one extraction electrode to extract ions from ion source102 to generate ion beam 106. For example, extraction optics 104 mayextract either positive ion species or negative ion species by applyinga relative negative or relative positive extraction voltage,respectively, to the at least one extraction electrode. The current andenergy of ion beam 106 may also be modified, at least in part, based onthe applied extraction voltage.

Ion beam 106 may be directed into mass analyzing magnet 108, which mayapply a magnetic field such that only the ions in ion beam 106 having adesired mass-to-charge ratio may pass through mass analyzing magnet 108toward the target. Mass analyzing magnet 108 may be configured to directthe emerging ions on one of two paths: either along beam path 118providing a substantially straight path toward target chamber 126, oralong beam path 116 providing a deceleration chicane (e.g., an s-bend)for modifying the ion beam energy and current before remerging onto path118 toward target chamber 126. One of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that other electrodes, other electromagnets, and still othercomponents not shown or described here may be used to guide an ion beamas desired for a particular embodiment (e.g., guide an ion beam alongbeam path 116 and back onto path 118).

Focusing system 110 may include one or more magnets, multipole magnets,or sets of multipole magnets for focusing and otherwise controlling theion beam. FIG. 1 illustrates a first set of multipole magnets 112 aswell as a second set of multipole magnets 114. In one embodiment,multipole magnets 112 may be movable along a track (as indicated byarrows) to be positioned either for straight beam path 118 or fordeceleration beam path 116. In one embodiment, multipole magnets 112 maycontrol the size and current density of the ion beam. In doing so,multipole magnets 112 may be configured to adjust the shape of the beamas well as the spatial uniformity. In one embodiment, multipole magnets112 may be configured with auxiliary electromagnets to improve a beamprofile by smoothing out noise, spikes, peaks, shoulders, and the likeover time. The auxiliary electromagnets of multipole magnets 112 maysmooth an ion beam profile by subjecting the ion beam to a fluctuatingmagnetic field that causes the beam profile shape to be changedcontinuously to average out noise that may be present in anyinstantaneous beam profile. In some examples, the auxiliaryelectromagnets may primarily affect the center of the beam where thehighest concentration of ions is positioned. For example, the auxiliaryelectromagnets of multipole magnets 112 may be configured to primarilyimpact ions in a position corresponding to the peak of a Gaussiancurve-shaped spot beam profile.

Multipole magnets 112 may include electromagnets comprisingelectrically-excitable wire coils orthogonally wrapped around a magneticcore, each individual coil being separately excitable. In someembodiments, the core may be laminated to reduce eddy currents. In otherembodiments, multipole magnets 112 may include coils wrapped around anon-magnetic core, or may include coils without a core. Other variationsof multipole magnets 112 are also possible, and various embodiments aredescribed in further detail below.

Focusing system 110 may also include multipole magnets 114. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, in one embodiment, system 100 and focusing system110 may include multipole magnets 114 for both straight beam path 118and deceleration beam path 116. Multipole magnets 114 may thus comprisetwo sets of multipole magnets, three multipole magnets, or othercombinations for allowing control of an ion beam along either straightbeam path 118 or deceleration beam path 116. In still other embodiments,multipole magnets 114 may be movable on a track to be positioned for useon either beam path. Multipole magnets 114 may be of a similarconstruction as multipole magnets 112 (i.e., electromagnets comprisingindividually excitable wire coils).

Multipole magnets 114 may generate a quadrupole field that is suitablefor collimation of an ion beam to cancel divergence or convergencebefore the ions are implanted in a work piece in target chamber 126.Multipole magnets 114 may, for example, cancel divergence or convergenceintroduced by multipole magnets 112 (e.g., halting beam spread, haltingbeam narrowing, etc.). In some embodiments, multipole magnets 114 mayalso allow for steering of a beam to strike the surface of a work piecein a particular location, or to allow for other positional adjustmentsof the beam. In still other embodiments, multipole magnets 114 may beconfigured to repeatedly deflect the ion beam to scan a work piece thatmay be stationary or moving.

Target chamber 126 is illustrated with Faraday beam profile measurementsystem 124, scan arm 128, and work piece 130. In one embodiment, Faradaybeam profile measurement system 124 may include multiple tools that maybe moved into the beam path to measure various characteristics of an ionbeam. For example, system 124 may include tools (e.g., Faraday cups) tomeasure ion beam current, ion beam energy, ion beam shape, ion beamuniformity, ion beam noise, ion beam angle, and the like. Eachmeasurement tool of system 124 may be automatically positioned in linewith straight beam path 118, in turn, when measurements are desired(e.g., during beam tuning, between scans, between work pieces, fortesting, etc.), and may be automatically moved out of the beam path whennot needed.

Scan arm 128 may be configured to position a work piece, such as workpiece 130, in front of the ion beam. In some embodiments, scan arm 128may be configured to pivot back and forth (as illustrated by arrows) topass the work piece through the beam, while its height is progressivelyincreased or decreased, so as to scan the work piece through the ionbeam in a curved zigzag pattern (e.g., scanning along an arc andstepping the height up or down between scans, increasing or decreasingthe height while scanning along an arc, etc.). Scan arm 128 may also beconfigured to rotate the work piece. In other embodiments, the ion beammay be moved (e.g., the ion beam may be deflected side to side or up anddown) to repeatedly scan a stationary work piece, or a combination ofion beam movement and work piece movement may be used to scan the workpiece with the ion beam (e.g., the ion beam may be deflected while thework piece is moved).

Ion implantation system 100 may also include various components forholding and transporting work pieces. In one embodiment, work pieces maybe stacked before and after implantation in load locks or load ports 134and 136. Robot arm 132 may retrieve work pieces to be doped from eitherload port 134 or load port 136, and similarly return doped work pieces.Robot arm 132 may transfer work pieces to be doped (e.g., work piece130) to scan arm 128 for ion implantation. After implantation, robot arm132 may retrieve a doped work piece from scan arm 128 and store it ineither load port 134 or load port 136.

Controller 122 may be configured to interact with and control multipolemagnets 112, multipole magnets 114, Faraday beam profile measurementsystem 124, and/or other elements of system 100. In some embodiments,separate controllers may be used for separate elements, each controllercommunicating with a server, host controller, overall system controller,or the like. Controller 122 may control beam measuring, receive ion beamcharacteristics from Faraday beam profile measurement system 124, andmodify the ion beam by altering drive signals of multipole magnets 112and 114 (including auxiliary electromagnets for smoothing the ion beamprofile). Controller 122 may separately drive each individual coil ofmultipole magnets 112 and 114 with specific currents to cause aparticular magnetic field to be generated to modify the ion beamcharacteristics as desired. Controller 122 may also control othercomponents of ion implantation system 100 as well as receive feedbackfrom various system components and instructions from users.

Controller 122 may include a computing system including, for example, aprocessor, memory, storage, and input/output devices (e.g., monitor,keyboard, disk drive, Internet connection, etc.). Controller 122 mayalso include circuitry or other specialized hardware for controlling andinteracting with various system elements. In some operational settings,controller 122 may be configured as a system that includes one or moreunits, each of which is configured to carry out some functions ofcontroller 122 in software, hardware, or some combination thereof.

Controller 122 may include a computing system with a motherboard havingan input/output (“I/O”) section, one or more central processing units(“CPU”), and a memory section, which may have a flash memory card orvarious other types of memory related to it. The I/O section may beconnected to a display, a keyboard, a disk storage unit, a media drive,and the like. An exemplary media drive can, for example, read/write acomputer-readable storage medium, which can contain programs or otherdata for executing the functions of controller 122, among other things.

In some embodiments, data received by controller 122 and values computedby controller 122 can be saved for subsequent use (e.g., for futurescans, for research, for records, etc.). Additionally, acomputer-readable medium can be used to store (e.g., tangibly embody)one or more computer programs for performing functions of controller122. Such computer programs may be written, for example, in a generalpurpose programming language (e.g., Pascal, C, C++) or some specializedapplication-specific language.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of exemplary ion implantationsystem 200. Ion implantation system 200 may be different than ionimplantation system 100, or may be the same as ion implantation system100; similarly numbered components may also be configured the same andperform the same functions (i.e., multipole magnets 212 may be the sameas multipole magnets 112), or they may differ. Ion implantation system200 may include ion source 202, extraction optics 204, and massanalyzing magnet 208. Ions generated by ion source 202, extracted byextraction optics 204, and passed through mass analyzing magnet 208 mayform an ion beam that is significantly larger in one dimension thananother (i.e., tall and narrow). System 200 may include a first set ofmultipole magnets 212 (which may include auxiliary electromagnets forsmoothing a beam profile), a second set of multipole magnets 214, acombination of beam dumps and electrodes 220 for absorbing unwanted ionsand further shaping and guiding the ion beam, and Faraday beam profilemeasurement system 224 for measuring an ion beam profile. System 200 mayfurther include beam dump 238 (which may also be a Faraday measuringdevice or other ion absorbing element) for absorbing ions that are notabsorbed or otherwise intercepted before reaching the termination of theion implantation beam path.

Multipole magnets 212 may control the size and current density of theion beam. In doing so, multipole magnets 212 may be configured to adjustthe shape of the beam as well as the spatial uniformity. Multipolemagnets 212 may include auxiliary electromagnets at the upper and lowerextremes that may be configured to improve a beam profile by smoothingout noise, spikes, peaks, shoulders, and the like over time. Theauxiliary electromagnets of multipole magnets 212 may smooth an ion beamprofile by subjecting the ion beam to a fluctuating magnetic field thatcauses the beam profile shape to be changed continuously to average outnoise that may be present in any instantaneous beam profile. In someexamples, the auxiliary electromagnets may primarily affect the centerof the beam profile where the highest concentration of ions ispositioned. For example, the auxiliary electromagnets of multipolemagnets 212 may be configured to primarily impact ions in a positioncorresponding to the peak of a Gaussian curve-shaped spot beam profile.

Multipole magnets 212 may include several electromagnets comprisingelectrically-excitable wire coils orthogonally wrapped around alaminated magnetic core, each individual coil being separatelyexcitable. As illustrated in FIG. 2, multipole magnets 212 may includetwo multipole magnets that may straddle a tall, narrow ion beam. A tall,rectangular core may be wrapped with several individual coils, stackedvertically, each of which may be separately excitable or controllable togenerate a quadrupole magnetic field with particular desiredcharacteristics to adjust portions or all of an ion beam as desired. Aswith system 100, multipole magnets 212 may be movable to straddle eitheran ion beam on a straight path to the target or an ion beam deflectedalong a deceleration chicane path. The auxiliary electromagnets ofmultipole magnets 212 may be positioned at the upper and lower extremesof multipole magnets 212, which in some embodiments may be outside theheight and width of the ion beam.

Multipole magnets 214 may be provided for both a straight ion beam pathand a deceleration ion beam path. Multipole magnets 214 may thuscomprise two sets of multipole magnets, three multipole magnets, orother combinations for allowing control of an ion beam along eitherpath. In still other embodiments, multipole magnets 214 may be movableon a track to be positioned for use on either beam path. Multipolemagnets 214 may be of a similar construction as multipole magnets 212(i.e., electromagnets comprising individually excitable wire coilswrapped around a tall core and stacked vertically).

Multipole magnets 214 may generate a quadrupole field that is suitablefor collimation of an ion beam to cancel divergence or convergencebefore the ions are implanted in a target work piece. Multipole magnets214 may, for example, cancel divergence or convergence introduced bymultipole magnets 212 (e.g., halting beam spread, halting beamnarrowing, etc.). Multipole magnets 214 may also suspend ion convergenceor divergence caused by a fluctuating magnetic field generated by theauxiliary electromagnets of multipole magnets 212. In some embodiments,multipole magnets 214 may also allow for steering of a beam to strikethe surface of a work piece in a particular location, or to allow forother positional adjustments of the beam. In still other embodiments,multipole magnets 214 may be configured to repeatedly deflect the ionbeam to scan a work piece that may be stationary or moving.

System 200 is further illustrated with Faraday beam profile measurementsystem 224, scan arm 228, and work piece 230. In one embodiment, Faradaybeam profile measurement system 224 may include multiple tools that maybe moved into the beam path (as illustrated by arrows) to measurevarious characteristics of an ion beam. For example, system 224 mayinclude tools (e.g., Faraday cups) to measure ion beam current, ion beamenergy, ion beam shape, ion beam uniformity, ion beam noise, ion beamangle, and the like. Each measurement tool of system 224 may beautomatically positioned in line with the beam path, in turn, whenmeasurements are desired (e.g., during beam tuning, between scans,between work pieces, for testing, etc.), and may be automatically movedout of the beam path when not needed.

Scan arm 228 may include an electrostatic chuck 242 for positioning awork piece, such as work piece 230, in front of the ion beam. Scan arm228 may be configured to pivot back and forth around axis 240 (asillustrated by curved arrows) to pass the work piece through the beam,while its height is progressively increased or decreased (as illustratedby vertical arrows), so as to scan the work piece through the ion beam(e.g., in a curved zigzag pattern by scanning along an arc and steppingthe height up or down between scans, increasing or decreasing the heightwhile scanning along an arc, etc.). Scan arm 228 may also be configuredto rotate a work piece around axis 241 to position the work piece at thedesired angle for doping (as illustrated by curved arrows). In otherembodiments, the ion beam may be moved (e.g., the ion beam may bedeflected side to side or up and down) to repeatedly scan a stationarywork piece, or a combination of ion beam movement and work piecemovement may be used to scan the work piece with the ion beam (e.g., theion beam may be deflected while the work piece is moved).

Ion implantation system 200 may also include various components forholding and transporting work pieces. In one embodiment, work pieces maybe stacked before and after implantation in load locks or load ports 234and 236. Robot arm 232 may include an electrostatic chuck 233 or similarwork piece grasping component to retrieve work pieces to be doped fromeither load port 234 or load port 236, and similarly return doped workpieces. Robot arm 232 may transfer work pieces to be doped (e.g., workpiece 230) to scan arm 228 with electrostatic chuck 242 for ionimplantation. After implantation, robot arm 232 may retrieve a dopedwork piece from scan arm 228 and store it in either load port 234 orload port 236.

FIG. 3 illustrates focusing system 310 with multipole magnets 312 and314 generating spot beam 358 that may have a Gaussian curve-shaped beamprofile for implanting a target, such as work piece 330. The componentsshown in FIG. 3 may be the same as similarly numbered components insystem 100 of FIG. 1 or system 200 of FIG. 2 (i.e., multipole magnets312 may be the same as multipole magnets 112 and 212). Mass analyzingmagnet 308 may receive ion beam 306, which may be generated from an ionsource and extraction optics. Mass analyzing magnet 308 may includearcuate yoke 344 of ferromagnetic material and upper and lower coils 346and 348. Yoke 344 and coils 346 and 348 may generate an ion beam pathwaythat is curvilinear. Coils 346 and 348 may be saddle-shaped (orbedstead-shaped) and may be mirror images of one another. Currentpassing through coils 346 and 348 may generate a magnetic field thatbends and filters ion beam 306 to exit as tall and narrow ion beam 356,rejecting contaminants, and passing toward the target only those ionswith the desired mass-to-charge ratio. Mass analyzing magnet 308 mayalso be configured to deflect the exiting ion beam at multiple anglesfor different ion beam paths (e.g., straight beam path 118 ordeceleration beam path 116 of FIG. 1). Multipole magnets 312 and 314 maybe duplicated for the various ion beam paths, or they may be movable tobe positioned along any of the various ion beam paths.

Multipole magnets 312 may be the same as multipole magnets 212 and 112of FIGS. 2 and 1, respectively, and may include auxiliary electromagnetsat the upper and lower extremes for smoothing an ion beam profile. Asillustrated, multipole magnets 312 may straddle ion beam 356 exitingmass analyzing magnet 308. Multipole magnets 312 may adjust the spatialuniformity, size, and shape of an ion beam. For example, as illustrated,multipole magnets 312 may deflect ions from ion beam 356 to convergeinto a vertically smaller ion beam. In shaping the beam profile,multipole magnets 312 may adjust the spatial uniformity to obtain thedesired concentration of ions (e.g., a Gaussian curve-shaped beamprofile for a spot beam). As discussed in further detail below, theauxiliary electromagnets of multipole magnets 312 may also subject atleast the center portion of ion beam 356 to a fluctuating magnetic fieldto smooth the beam profile to reduce noise, peaks, and the like.

Multipole magnets 314 may be the same as multipole magnets 214 and 114of FIGS. 2 and 1, respectively. As illustrated, multipole magnets 314may collimate an ion beam—substantially cancelling the convergence ordivergence of ions such that the ions in ion beam 358 may strike targetsurface 330 at a substantially uniform angle. Multipole magnets 314 mayalso be configured to steer ion beam 358 to strike target surface 330 ata particular position. Controller 322 may be the same as controller 122of system 100 in FIG. 1, and may control multipole magnets 312 and 314,exciting the various coils with various currents to produce the desiredion beam profile. Work piece 330 may be moved relative to ion beam 358to scan the work piece with ions and provide a substantially uniformdoping. As illustrated by arrows, work piece 330 may be moved in atleast two dimensions, and may also be rotated as desired. In oneembodiment, work piece 330 may be supported by a scan arm that pivotsthe work piece back and forth sideways, in and out of the beam, whileprogressively moving vertically, to scan the entire work piece surfacein a curved zigzag pattern (e.g., scanning along an arc and stepping theheight up or down between scans, increasing or decreasing the heightwhile scanning along an arc, etc.).

FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary scanning system 400 for scanning work piece430 through ion beam 458 (as mentioned above, however, the ion beam maybe moved to scan the work piece, or a combination of ion beam movementand work piece movement may be used). Scanning system 400 may be part ofeither system 100 or system 200 of FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively. Scanningsystem 400 may include scan arm 428 that rotates about axis 440 to pivotwork piece 430 in and out of ion beam 458. Scan arm 428 may includeelectrostatic chuck 442 for handling work piece 430. Scan arm 428 mayalso be configured to move vertically along sliding seal 460 touniformly dope work piece 430 with successive scans through ion beam 458(e.g., in a curved zigzag pattern by scanning along an arc and steppingthe height up or down between scans, increasing or decreasing the heightwhile scanning along an arc, etc.). Sliding seal 460 may provide asealed juncture between a vacuum sealed housing of an ion implantationtool and the outside atmosphere. Scan arm 428 may also be configured torotate work piece 430 about axis 441 to position work piece 430 at adesired angle for implantation. Scan arm 428 and electrostatic chuck 442may further be able to rotate work piece 430 within its own plane (e.g.,rotate 90 degrees between scans). Scanning system 400 is alsoillustrated with beam dump 438 (which may also be a Faraday measuringdevice or other ion absorbing element) for absorbing ions that are notabsorbed or otherwise intercepted before reaching the termination of thebeam path of ion beam 458.

Additional details will now be described of various embodiments ofauxiliary multipole magnets for smoothing an ion beam profile. It shouldbe appreciated that multipole magnets 112 and 114 of FIG. 1, multipolemagnets 212 and 214 of FIG. 2, and multipole magnets 312 and 314 of FIG.3 may all incorporate some or all of the features described herein ofexemplary auxiliary multipole magnets for generating a magnetic field toobtain a desired ion beam profile. However, in one embodiment, theexemplary configurations described below may be incorporated primarilyin multipole magnets 112 of FIG. 1, multipole magnets 212 of FIG. 2, andmultipole magnets 312 of FIG. 3. In addition, while various embodimentsof magnets for smoothing an ion beam profile have been described asauxiliary, it should be appreciated that a fluctuating magnetic fieldfunction for smoothing may be incorporated into any of the magneticfield devices described herein without providing separate auxiliary wirecoils (i.e., any coils of any magnetic field devices discussed hereinmay be driven with a periodic or other changing signal to produce afluctuating magnetic field that may help smooth an ion beam profile).

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a portion of an exemplary multipole magnet,including auxiliary electromagnets for smoothing a beam profile of anion beam by subjecting the ion beam to a fluctuating magnetic field.FIG. 5A illustrates a laminated yoke or core 570 around which are 17orthogonally-wrapped individual wire coils—each forming an electromagnetthat may be excited individually (e.g., by controller 122). In oneembodiment, all 17 coils may be identical or substantially the same inconstruction. In other embodiments, outermost coils 572 and 574 may beof a different construction than coil 576 and the other 14 interiorcoils (e.g., varying in number of windings, wire gauge, material, etc.).In still other embodiments, a variety of coil constructions may beincluded at different positions. Individual coils may comprise wire(e.g., magnet wire) wrapped multiple times around core 570 andelectrically connected to a current source, such as controller 122outputting a drive signal.

Although FIG. 5A illustrates a multipole magnet that includes laminatedcore 570, it should be appreciated that a multipole magnet suitable forsmoothing an ion beam profile as described herein may not include acore, may include a laminated core (e.g., magnetic electrical steelM-19), may include a solid—non-laminated—core (e.g., solid magneticsteel 1006), may include separate cores for separate coils, or maycomprise different electromagnet constructions known to those ofordinary skill in the art. A typical core, if one is used, may comprisea material with high electrical resistivity and magnetic permeability toreduce eddy currents while increasing the amplitude of the generatedmagnetic field. Because eddy currents generated in the core of anelectromagnet may themselves generate magnetic fields that interferewith the desired magnetic field, a laminated core may be used tominimize eddy currents and accordingly reduce interference with thedesired magnetic field. Thus, for embodiments with low eddy currents, asolid core may be suitable, whereas for embodiments with potentiallyhigh eddy currents, a laminated core may be desired to avoid significantinterference with the desired magnetic field. Similarly, a core may beeither magnetic or non-magnetic depending on the desired magnitude ofthe magnetic field to be generated by the multipole magnet, and theshape may likewise vary based on needs. For example, while laminatedcore 570 is illustrated as having a rectangular shape, other core shapesmay be used (e.g., ‘E’ shaped cores, curved cores, columnar cores,etc.).

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate various laminated core configurationsthat may be used in any of the multipole magnets described herein. Fromthe perspective shown, FIG. 6A illustrates a laminated core with avertical construction, FIG. 6B illustrates a laminated core with ahorizontal construction, and FIG. 6C illustrates a laminated core with astacked plate construction. In each of these exemplary constructions,adjacent plates or core portions may be narrow (e.g., 0.635 mm thick,2.75 mm thick, 6 mm thick, etc.), may be made of magnetic ornon-magnetic materials (e.g., magnetic electrical steel M-19, stainlesssteel, aluminum, etc.), and may be electrically insulated (e.g., withepoxy) such that current flow is limited or prevented between adjacentplates or core portions. As such, a laminated core may be used toprevent eddy currents from developing that may produce magnetic fieldsthat could interfere with the desired magnetic field of the multipolemagnet.

Referring again to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the number of coils and layout ofthe coils may be varied based on needs. For example, a single coil maybe used to generate a fluctuating magnetic field to smooth an ion beamprofile. In other embodiments, 17 coils may be used collectively to bothsmooth a beam profile and provide spatial uniformity. Fewer coils ormore coils may be used depending on the desired resulting magnetic fieldand the size of the ion beam to be affected. Rather than stackedvertically close together, coils may be spaced apart, arranged indifferent shapes, or otherwise varied to obtain a multipole magnetcapable of generating the desired magnetic field. Incorporating multiplecoils may provide the capability to drive or power different coils withdifferent drive signals, such as periodic signals, direct current (DC)signals, a combination of periodic and DC signals, or other signalvariations (e.g., energy, amplitude, frequency, current, etc.) dependingon magnetic field needs.

In one embodiment, the multipole magnet of FIG. 5A may be either one ofthe set of multipole magnets 212 of system 200 in FIG. 2, and may thusoperate on a vertically-aligned ion beam that is tall and narrow.Outermost coils 572 and 574, positioned at the upper and lower extremesof the illustrated multipole magnet, may be auxiliary electromagnetsoperable to smooth an ion beam profile. In one embodiment, coils 572 and574 may be positioned outside the vertical position and height of thevertically-aligned ion beam (e.g., on opposite sides of the ion beam),while coil 576 and some or all of the other 14 interior coils may bepositioned within or mostly within the vertical position and height ofthe vertically-aligned ion beam. Coil 576 and the other 14 interiorcoils may be driven individually with particular DC signals, causingthem to generate a mostly static quadrupole magnetic field that may beused to control the size and current density of an ion beam. Forexample, the interior coils may be configured to adjust the shape of thebeam (e.g., deflecting ions to narrow the beam vertically to a spot beamas illustrated in FIG. 3) and to adjust the spatial uniformity of thebeam (e.g., deflecting ions to produce a spot beam with a Gaussiancurve-shaped beam profile with the highest ion concentration in thecenter of the beam). As illustrated by multipole magnets 212 in FIG. 2,a set of multipole magnets may straddle an ion beam, so the multipolemagnet of FIG. 5A may be duplicated, and each of those coils may besimilarly driven with individual signals to generate the desiredmagnetic field.

Coils 572 and 574 may be individually driven with periodic signalsduring operation when beam profile smoothing is desired. For example,coils 572 and 574 may be driven with high frequency signals anywherefrom 50 to 300 Hz or higher. In one embodiment, coil 572 may be drivenwith a periodic signal that is different than coil 574 (e.g., opposite,shifted, different amplitude, different frequency, etc.). In anotherembodiment, coils 572 and 574 may be driven with the same periodicsignal. Using the opposite drive signal (or the same drive signal as thecase may be) may cause each of coils 572 and 574 to impact ions in thecenter of the ion beam in the same (or at least a similar) way. Forexample, at one point in time, the magnetic fields generated by bothcoil 572 and coil 574 may slightly deflect ions at the center of thebeam downward; at another time, both fields may slightly deflect ions atthe center of the beam upward.

In still other embodiments, coils 572 and 574 may be used to shape theion beam as well as smooth the ion beam profile by being driven with asignal that has a DC component as well as a periodic component. Inaddition, coil 576 and any other interior coil may be used not only toshape the ion beam, but also to generate a fluctuating magnetic field tohelp smooth the ion beam profile, or any interior coil may be used onlyto smooth the ion beam profile with a fluctuating magnetic field. Forexample, some or all of the interior coils may be driven with a signalthat has both a DC component and a periodic component, or some or all ofthe interior coils may be driven with only a periodic signal. Thus,depending on the desired magnetic field and the desired changes in thebeam profile, different coils may be driven with different signals thatmay be DC signals, periodic signals, or signals with both DC andperiodic components.

Moreover, the position of the ion beam relative to the various coilsdepicted in FIG. 5A may be different than what has been described. Forexample, any of the coils, including any of the interior coils, may beoutside the height of the ion beam (i.e., outside the upper or loweredge of the ion beam) or within the height of the ion beam (i.e., withinthe upper and lower edges of the ion beam). It should be noted that theheight of the ion beam may correspond to the vertical span of the ionbeam with significant ion concentration (ignoring stray ions or areaswith negligible ion concentration), and the upper and lower edges maycorrespond approximately to where the ion concentration drops to zero orto a relatively negligible level. Similarly, for a horizontally-alignedion beam, the width may correspond to the horizontal span of the ionbeam with significant ion concentration, with ion concentration droppingto zero or to a relatively negligible level at the edges.

The fluctuating magnetic field may be strongest near the center of theion beam, and may affect the instantaneous beam profile shape mostsignificantly near the center of the ion beam (e.g., the peak of aGaussian curve-shaped spot beam profile). For example, the fluctuatingmagnetic field may cause instantaneous beam profile shapes to begenerated with high ion concentrations that range as much as 20 mm fromthe center of the ion beam. In addition, the fluctuating magnetic fieldmay cause variations (which may be random) in other portions of the beamprofile shape other than portions with high ion concentrations. Curve573 may illustrate an example of the magnetic field strength B (ormagnetic flux density B) of the fluctuating magnetic field along theheight of the multipole magnet of FIG. 5A at one moment in time. Asillustrated, the fluctuating magnetic field may be strongest near thecenter of the multipole magnet, and the field may be substantiallyweaker near the upper and lower ends of the multipole magnet. Bycontinuously varying the beam profile shape with the fluctuatingmagnetic field, noise, spikes, peaks, or the like that may be present ina single instantaneous beam profile may be averaged out over time fromother beam profile shapes with fewer or different spikes, peaks, noise,and the like that may be in different positions. The continuouslyvarying beam profile shapes may thus produce a smooth time-averaged beamprofile shape.

As mentioned above, a duplicate set of multipole magnets may straddle anion beam, so a total of four auxiliary electromagnets may be used, eachgenerating a fluctuating magnetic field, which may combine to generate aquadrupole magnetic field. In one embodiment, all four auxiliaryelectromagnets may generate a magnetic field that affects ions at thecenter of the ion beam in the same or substantially the same way (which,depending on the orientation of coils and other known factors, mayrequire driving auxiliary electromagnets on opposite sides of the ionbeam with opposite signals, driving adjacent auxiliary electromagnetswith opposite signals, or other configurations). Positioning coils 572and 574 outside the height of the ion beam (or outside the edges of theion beam) may beneficially reduce or eliminate unwanted interferencewith the shaping/uniformity magnetic field discussed above. Inparticular, positioning coils 572 and 574 outside the height of the ionbeam (and in some embodiments on opposite sides of the ion beam) maybeneficially reduce or prevent fluctuations at the top and bottom of theion beam while the generated fluctuating magnetic field primarilyimpacts the center of the ion beam, thereby retaining control forproviding uniform doping on a work piece with a time-averaged smoothbeam profile.

FIG. 5B illustrates a multipole magnet where the coils may have beenencased in a potting compound such as epoxy, resin, or another compound,or may have been encased in a housing. Such housings may produce eddycurrents that could interfere with the desired magnetic field dependingon the construction, so housing materials may preferably be non-magneticwhile also having high electrical resistivity, being laminated, or beingsolid with a reduced thickness to minimize eddy currents. Outermostcoils 582 and 584 may correspond to coils 572 and 574 of FIG. 5A, whilecoil 586 and the other 14 interior coils may correspond to coil 576 andthe other interior coils of FIG. 5A. Although coils 582 and 584 areshown with a distinct pattern from the interior coils, coils 582 and 584may be identical or substantially the same as the interior coils, and/ormay have the same potting compound or housing.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C illustrate exemplary theoretical instantaneous beamprofiles 702, 704, and 706 that may result from subjecting an ion beamto a fluctuating magnetic field from auxiliary electromagnets discussedherein. While typical beam profile measurement equipment may provide atime-averaged beam profile measurement, theoretical instantaneous beamprofiles 702, 704, and 706 are provided for illustrative purposes andmay regardless represent actual instantaneous beam profiles with variedion concentration. Beam profiles 702, 704, and 706 may representinstantaneous samplings of a vertically-aligned spot beam at threedifferent times; the horizontal axes (‘x’ axes) of FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7Cmay be vertical position, and the vertical axes (‘y’ axes) of FIGS. 7A,7B, and 7C may be ion concentration, ion energy, ion current, or thelike. Position X1 may correspond to the bottom edge of the ion beam, andposition X2 may correspond to the top edge of the ion beam. The heightof the corresponding ion beam may thus be the distance between positionX1 and position X2.

Beam profiles 702, 704, and 706 may illustrate the continuously changingbeam profile shape of an ion beam—over time—effectuated by a fluctuatingmagnetic field generated by any of the auxiliary electromagnetsdiscussed herein. Beam profile 702 may represent a theoreticalinstantaneous measurement of an ion beam at a first time t0, beamprofile 704 may represent a theoretical instantaneous measurement of thesame ion beam at a later time t1, and beam profile 706 may represent atheoretical instantaneous measurement of the same ion beam at a latertime t2. It should be noted that the difference in time between timest0, t1, and t2 may be very short (e.g., milliseconds, microseconds,nanoseconds, picoseconds, or even shorter). As illustrated, theinstantaneous beam profile shape may change from profile 702 at time t0with a peak near the center of the ion beam to different profile 704 attime t1 with a peak to the right of center (or above center). The beamprofile may then change to still different profile 706 at time t2 with apeak to the left of center (or below center). After time t2, thefluctuating magnetic field may cause the beam profile to continue tochange to any of a practically infinite number of instantaneous beamprofile shapes that—collectively and over time—average out noise,spikes, peaks, and the like.

In one embodiment with a Gaussian curve-shaped spot beam (vertically orhorizontally aligned), ions near the center of the ion beam may beaffected by the fluctuating magnetic field more than ions near the edgesof the ion beam, thereby generating instantaneous beam profile shapeswith more significant variations near the center than near the edges.One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the illustratedprofiles are for descriptive purposes, and the actual instantaneous beamprofile shapes may be different than what is shown depending on theimplementation.

Notably, despite the marked profile shape variations near the center ofthe ion beam, the edges of the ion beam profiles may remain unchanged asillustrated by positions X1 and X2 in each of FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C. Inparticular, instantaneous beam profiles 702, 704, and 706 may all sharethe same ion beam edges and have the same height (or width), from ionbeam lower edge X1 to ion beam upper edge X2, even though the centers ofthe beam profiles vary. The time-averaged beam profile (which may bethat illustrated in FIG. 8B, as discussed below) may likewise share thesame ion beam edges and have the same height (or width) as some or allof the instantaneous beam profiles, even though the center of theprofiles vary. As discussed above, positioning auxiliary electromagnetsoutside the width and/or height of an ion beam may reduce or eliminatevariations at the edges of the ion beam while still continuouslychanging the instantaneous beam profile shape, with variations that maybe most significant near the center of the beam. By maintainingconsistent beam height or width and beam edge positions, a user maybeneficially have more precise control over implantation and may be ableto better predict how different implantation settings (e.g., differentscan patterns, different scan velocities, different beam currents, etc.)will perform in implanting a work piece.

FIG. 8A illustrates exemplary time-averaged beam profile 890 that may bea measured beam profile of any of the implantation systems describedherein. Beam profile 890 may be a time-averaged beam profile of an ionbeam that was not subject to a fluctuating magnetic field from auxiliaryelectromagnets for smoothing described herein. In one embodiment, beamprofile 890 may represent a vertical, time-averaged sampling of avertically-aligned spot beam; the horizontal axis (‘x’ axis) of FIG. 8Amay be vertical position, and the vertical axis (‘y’ axis) of FIG. 8Amay be ion concentration, ion energy, ion current, or the like. PositionX1 may correspond to the bottom edge of the ion beam, and position X2may correspond to the top edge of the ion beam. The height of thecorresponding ion beam may thus be the distance between position X1 andposition X2.

Beam profile 890 may be a Gaussian curve-shaped spot beam profile, withthe highest concentration of ions in the center of the beam. Beamprofile 890 may illustrate a Gaussian curve-shaped beam profile thatsuffers from noise, spikes, peaks, shoulders, and the like. In someinstances, ion implantation with an ion beam with a profile like beamprofile 890 may produce poor quality, non-uniform, or otherwiseunsatisfactory work piece doping. In other instances, a beam with a beamprofile like beam profile 890 may require additional tuning time toattempt to eliminate some of the noise, spikes, peaks, shoulders, etc.In still other instances, a work piece may require a significantlyhigher number of scans, a decreased distance between adjacent scans, ora lowered beam current with a beam profile like beam profile 890, in anattempt to apply uniform doping across the work piece.

FIG. 8B illustrates exemplary time-averaged beam profile 892 that may bea measured beam profile of any of the implantation systems describedherein. Beam profile 892 may be a time-averaged beam profile of an ionbeam that was subject to a fluctuating magnetic field from auxiliaryelectromagnets for smoothing described herein. As with beam profile 890,beam profile 892 may represent a vertical, time-averaged sampling of avertically-aligned spot beam; the horizontal axis (‘x’ axis) of FIG. 8Bmay likewise be vertical position, and the vertical axis (‘y’ axis) ofFIG. 8B may be ion concentration, ion energy, ion current, or the like.As in FIG. 8A, position X1 of FIG. 8B may correspond to the bottom edgeof the ion beam, and position X2 may correspond to the top edge of theion beam.

Beam profile 892 may be a Gaussian curve-shaped spot beam profile, withthe highest concentration of ions in the center of the beam. Beamprofile 892 may illustrate a Gaussian curve-shaped beam profile wherethe corresponding spot beam has been smoothed by being subjected to afluctuating magnetic field by any of the auxiliary electromagnetsdescribed herein to cause the instantaneous beam profile to changecontinuously to average out noise, spikes, peaks, shoulders, and thelike. Beam profile 892 may, for example, illustrate the time-averagedbeam profile shape of beam profiles 702, 704, and 706 of FIGS. 7A, 7B,and 7C, respectively. As illustrated, beam profile 892 is smoother thanbeam profile 890 and more closely follows a desirable Gaussian curveshape, which may be the result of auxiliary electromagnets smoothing thebeam to remove or reduce the impact of noise, spikes, peaks, shoulders,and the like.

In one embodiment, applying a fluctuating magnetic field to an ion beamas discussed herein may transform noisy beam profile 890 into smootherbeam profile 892. Notably, position X1 and position X2 may be the samein the corresponding ion beams of FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B despite applyingmagnetic field fluctuation and causing the instantaneous beam profile tochange continuously to smooth the beam. In particular, the bottom edgeof the ion beam may remain in the same vertical position X1, and the topedge of the ion beam may remain in the same vertical position X2, whilethe center portion of the beam profile is changed. Likewise, the heightof the ion beam may be unchanged, the distance between vertical positionX1 and vertical position X2 being the same in the corresponding ionbeams of FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B. As discussed above, positioning auxiliaryelectromagnets outside the width and/or height of an ion beam may reduceor eliminate variations at the edges of the ion beam while beneficiallychanging the beam profile shape most significantly near the center ofthe ion beam to produce a time-averaged smooth beam profile asillustrated in FIG. 8B.

FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C illustrate dose uniformity of exemplary work piecesdoped using different implantation settings. Shading variations in FIGS.9A, 9B, and 9C may illustrate undesirable dosage non-uniformity across awork piece. FIG. 9A may correspond to a work piece doped withoutsubjecting the ion beam to a fluctuating magnetic field from any of theauxiliary electromagnets discussed herein. As mentioned above, ion beamnoise, spikes, and the like may lead to non-uniform dosage across a workpiece. One method of addressing ion beam noise to improve uniformity maybe to increase the number of times a work piece is scanned through anion beam. For example, FIG. 9A may correspond to a work piece scanned160 times through an ion beam (e.g., by rotating the work piece 90degrees between sets of 40 vertically progressing scans). As shadingvariations in FIG. 9A are relatively minor, the work piece implantationcorresponding to FIG. 9A may be relatively uniform with relatively minordosage variations. However, scanning the work piece 160 times may haverequired significantly more implantation time than scanning other workpieces fewer times, so achieving the uniformity illustrated in FIG. 9Amay have come at the expense of decreased work piece implantationthroughput.

FIG. 9B may correspond to another work piece doped without subjectingthe ion beam to a fluctuating magnetic field from any of the auxiliaryelectromagnets discussed herein. FIG. 9B may correspond to a work piecescanned 80 times through an ion beam (e.g., by rotating the work piece90 degrees between sets of 20 vertically progressing scans). With halfthe number of scans as the work piece of FIG. 9A, implantation of thework piece of FIG. 9B may have been completed significantly faster,which may have increased work piece implantation throughput. Asillustrated by shading variations, however, the work piece implantationcorresponding to FIG. 9B may be markedly less uniform with significantlymore dosage variations than the work piece of FIG. 9A. Thus, whilehalving the number of scans may have reduced implantation time andincreased throughput, the improvement may have come at the expense ofdecreased dosage uniformity on the work piece, which may also havedecreased yield.

In contrast, FIG. 9C may correspond to a work piece doped with an ionbeam with a smoothed ion beam profile from subjecting the ion beam to afluctuating magnetic field from any of the auxiliary electromagnetsdiscussed herein. FIG. 9C may correspond to a work piece scanned 80times through an ion beam like the work piece corresponding to FIG. 9B,but with the addition of subjecting the ion beam to a fluctuatingmagnetic field to cause the instantaneous beam profile to changecontinuously to smooth the beam profile. As illustrated by therelatively minor shading variations, the work piece implantationcorresponding to FIG. 9C may be much more uniform with relatively minordosage variations compared to the work piece of FIG. 9B that was scannedthe same number of times. Thus, without increasing the number of scansand decreasing implantation throughput, dosage uniformity may besignificantly increased by smoothing the beam profile by subjecting theion beam to a fluctuating magnetic field from any of the auxiliaryelectromagnets discussed herein.

In addition, the uniformity of the work piece of FIG. 9C may be nearlythe same as or better than the uniformity of the work piece of FIG. 9Athat was scanned twice as many times. Thus, the uniformity improvementgained from subjecting the ion beam to a fluctuating magnetic field maybe nearly the same as or better than the uniformity improvement gainedfrom doubling the number of scans, but may be achieved without theexpense of decreased throughput associated with the increased number ofscans. Accordingly, as illustrated by FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C, smoothing anion beam profile by subjecting the ion beam to a fluctuating magneticfield using any of the auxiliary electromagnets discussed herein maysignificantly improve work piece dosage uniformity without the addedcosts of other approaches.

FIG. 10 illustrates exemplary process 1000 for doping a work piece.Process 1000 may begin at block 1002 by generating a beam of ions. Abeam of ions may be generated, for example, from an ion source andextraction optics, such as ion source 102 and extraction optics 104 ofsystem 100 or ion source 202 and extraction optics 204 of system 200. Atblock 1004, electromagnets may be driven to generate a magnetic field toshape the ion beam profile (i.e., beam current density profile). In oneembodiment, a pair of multipole magnets straddling the ion beam may beused that comprise stacked, separately driven wire coils orthogonallywrapped around a core, which may be laminated. For example, any ofmultipole magnets 112, 212, and 312 may be used with any of thelaminated cores illustrated in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C. Each of the coilsmay be driven with a particular DC drive signal to generate a quadrupolemagnetic field to cause ions to converge or diverge to form the desiredbeam profile. In other embodiments, some or all of the coils may bedrive with periodic signals or with signals that have both a DCcomponent and a periodic component. Each of the pair of multipolemagnets may include several individual electromagnets to allow controlof individual portions of the ion beam (e.g., 5 electromagnets, 10electromagnets, 15 electromagnets, etc.). The magnetic field may cause aspot beam to be generated with a Gaussian curve-shaped beam profile withthe highest concentration of ions in the center of the beam.

At block 1006, auxiliary electromagnets may be driven to generate afluctuating magnetic field to cause the ion beam profile shape to changecontinuously to smooth the time-averaged beam profile. In oneembodiment, the fluctuating magnetic field may be separate from themagnetic field of block 1004. In another embodiment, however, thefluctuating magnetic field may be combined with the magnetic field ofblock 1004 along the same portion of the ion beam path. The fluctuatingmagnetic field may be generated by one or more individually-excitableauxiliary electromagnets that may or may not be wrapped around alaminated core. In one embodiment, the one or more auxiliaryelectromagnets may be stacked with and wrapped around the same core asthe coils used to generate the magnetic field of block 1004. Forexample, the auxiliary electromagnets may be part of multipole magnets112, 212, or 312, and may be arranged as illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B.The one or more auxiliary electromagnets may be positioned outside thewidth and height of the ion beam, and may be configured to primarilyimpact the center of the ion beam while limiting interference with theupper and lower edges of the ion beam. In other embodiments, theauxiliary magnets may be positioned within the width or height of theion beam.

The one or more auxiliary electromagnets may be driven with periodicdrive signals. In other embodiments, the one or more auxiliaryelectromagnets may be driven with DC signals or signals that have both aDC component and a periodic component. One, two, four, or more auxiliaryelectromagnets may be used to generate a fluctuating magnetic field tocause the instantaneous beam profile to change continuously to smooththe time-averaged ion beam profile. For example, four auxiliaryelectromagnets may be used, which may be positioned on the ends of a setof multipole magnets (i.e., each electromagnet positioned on an end ofeach of a set of multipole magnets), or may be positioned outside of oneof the upper or lower corners of the ion beam (i.e. outside both thewidth and height of the ion beam, outside the edges of the ion beam, onopposite sides of the ion beam, etc.). The fluctuating magnetic fieldmay cause the instantaneous beam profile to change continuously toaverage out noise, spikes, and the like such that the time-averaged beamprofile is smooth.

At block 1008, the ion beam may be guided along an ion beam path towarda work piece to implant ions on the work piece. In one embodiment, amass analyzing magnet may be used both to filter the generated ions topass only those ions with the desired mass-to-charge ratio and todeflect the generated ion beam along a particular path. For example, anyof mass analyzing magnets 108, 208, and 308 discussed above may be used.In some embodiments, the mass analyzing magnet may be positioned in thetool between the ion beam source and the electromagnets of blocks 1004and 1006. The ion beam may be taller than it is wide. In someembodiments, before being implanted, the ion beam may be subjected to amagnetic field other than those of blocks 1004 and 1006 to collimate theshaped and smoothed ion beam. A pair of multipole magnets similar tothose of block 1004 may be used to generate a quadrupole magnetic fieldto collimate the ion beam. For example, multipole magnets 114, 214, or314 may be used. The magnetic field may cancel divergence or convergenceof the ions such that the ions in the ion beam may emerge from the fieldand strike a target at a substantially uniform angle. Spreading ornarrowing of the beam may thus be halted before implantation. Thecollimating multipole magnets may also be used to deflect the ion beamto strike a target at a particular position.

The shaped and smoothed (and in some cases collimated) ion beam may beimplanted into a target work piece, such as work piece 130, 230, 330, or430. A target work piece may be scanned multiple times through the ionbeam, in vertically-progressing scans until the entire work piece hasbeen doped. The work piece may then be rotated (e.g., 90 degrees), andit may be scanned through the ion beam again in vertically-progressingscans. Rotation and scanning may be repeated as needed to ensure uniformdoping of the work piece (e.g., one more time, two more times, etc.). Inother embodiments, the ion beam may be moved (e.g., the ion beam may bedeflected side to side or up and down) to repeatedly scan a stationarywork piece, or a combination of ion beam movement and work piecemovement may be used to scan the work piece with the ion beam (e.g., theion beam may be deflected while the work piece is moved). Process 1000may thus produce a doped work piece with a substantially uniform iondosage across the work piece.

While specific components, configurations, features, and functions areprovided above, it will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in theart that other variations may be used. Additionally, although a featuremay appear to be described in connection with a particular embodiment,one skilled in the art would recognize that various features of thedescribed embodiments may be combined. Moreover, aspects described inconnection with an embodiment may stand alone.

Although embodiments have been fully described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, it should be noted that various changes andmodifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changesand modifications are to be understood as being included within thescope of the various embodiments as defined by the appended claims.

1-25. (canceled)
 26. A method of shaping an ion beam, the methodcomprising: subjecting an ion beam to a magnetic field generated by aset of multipole magnets to shape an ion beam profile of the ion beam,wherein each multipole magnet of the set of multipole magnets comprises:a laminated core; a plurality of separately driven electromagnetswrapped around the laminated core; and one or more separately drivenauxiliary electromagnets wrapped around the laminated core andpositioned on an end of the multipole magnet; generating a plurality ofdirect current (DC) drive signals to drive the plurality ofelectromagnets of each of the set of multipole magnets to generate aquadrupole magnetic field; and generating one or more alternatingcurrent (AC) drive signals to drive the one or more auxiliaryelectromagnets of each of the set of multipole magnets to generate afluctuating magnetic field; wherein the fluctuating magnetic fieldcauses the ion beam profile shape to change continuously to smooth atime-averaged ion beam profile of the ion beam.
 27. The method of claim26, wherein the fluctuating magnetic field is strongest near a center ofthe set of multipole magnets, and the fluctuating magnetic field becomesweaker with distance from the center of the set of multipole magnets.28. (canceled)
 29. (canceled)
 30. The method of claim 26, wherein foreach of the set of multipole magnets: one or more separately drivensecond auxiliary electromagnets are wrapped around the laminated coreand positioned on a second end of the multipole magnet opposite of theend of the multipole magnet.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein foreach of the set of multipole magnets: the plurality of electromagnets isdisposed between the one or more auxiliary electromagnets and the one ormore second auxiliary electromagnets.
 32. The method of claim 30,wherein as the ion beam passes between the set of multipole magnets, anentire cross-section of the ion beam is positioned between the one ormore auxiliary electromagnets and the one or more second auxiliaryelectromagnets of each of the set of multipole magnets.
 33. The methodof claim 30, further comprising: generating one or more second AC drivesignals to drive the one or more second auxiliary electromagnets of eachof the set of multipole magnets.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein theone or more second AC drive signals are different from the one or moreAC drive signals.
 35. The method of claim 26, wherein as the ion beamenters between the set of multipole magnets, the cross-section of theion beam has a first long dimension and a first short dimensionperpendicular to the first long dimension.
 36. The method of claim 35,wherein as the ion beam exits from between the set of multipole magnets,the cross-section of the ion beam has a second long dimension and asecond short dimension perpendicular to the second long dimension,wherein the second long dimension is approximately equal to the firstlong dimension.
 37. The method of claim 26, wherein the fluctuatingmagnetic field causes the ion beam profile shape to continuously changemore significantly at a center of the ion beam than at an edge of theion beam.
 38. The method of claim 26, further comprising: generating anAC signal to drive an electromagnet of the plurality of electromagnetsof each of the set of multipole magnets
 39. A method of shaping an ionbeam, the method comprising: generating an ion beam with an ion source;directing the ion beam between a set of multipole magnets to shape anion beam profile of the ion beam, wherein each of the set of multipolemagnets comprises: a laminated core; a plurality of separately drivenelectromagnets wrapped around the laminated core; and a pair ofseparately driven auxiliary electromagnets wrapped around the laminatedcore and positioned on opposite ends of the multipole magnet; generatinga magnetic field by driving the plurality of electromagnets of each ofthe set of multipole magnets with a plurality of direct current (DC)drive signals; generating a continuously fluctuating magnetic field bydriving the pair of auxiliary electromagnets of each of the set ofmultipole magnets with one or more alternating current (AC) drivesignals, wherein the continuously fluctuating magnetic field causes theion beam profile shape to change continuously to smooth a time-averagedion beam profile of the ion beam; and directing the ion beam with thesmoothed time-averaged ion beam profile onto a work piece.
 40. Themethod of claim 39, wherein the fluctuating magnetic field is strongestat a center point between the set of multipole magnets and between thepair of auxiliary electromagnets of each of the set of multipolemagnets, and wherein the fluctuating magnetic field becomes increasinglyweaker with distance from the center point.
 41. The method of claim 39,wherein the fluctuating magnetic field causes the ion beam profile shapeto continuously change more significantly at a center of the ion beamthan at an edge of the ion beam.
 42. The method of claim 39, wherein fora multipole magnet of the set of multipole magnets: a first AC drivesignal of the one or more AC drive signals drives a first auxiliaryelectromagnet of the pair of auxiliary electromagnets; a second AC drivesignal of the one or more AC drive signals drives a second auxiliaryelectromagnet of the pair of auxiliary electromagnets; and the first ACdrive signal is different from the second AC drive signal.
 43. Themethod of claim 39, wherein as the ion beam enters between the set ofmultipole magnets, the cross-section of the ion beam has a first longdimension and a first short dimension perpendicular to the first longdimension, wherein as the ion beam exits from between the set ofmultipole magnets, the cross-section of the ion beam has a second longdimension and a second short dimension perpendicular to the second longdimension, and wherein the second long dimension is approximately equalto the first long dimension.
 44. A method of shaping an ion beam, themethod comprising: generating an ion beam with the ion source; directingthe ion beam between a pair of multipole magnets to shape an ion beamprofile of the ion beam, each of the pair of multipole magnetscomprising: a laminated core; a plurality of separately drivenelectromagnets wrapped around the laminated core; and a pair ofseparately driven auxiliary electromagnets wrapped around the laminatedcore and positioned on opposite ends of the multipole magnet; generatinga magnetic field by driving the plurality of electromagnets of each ofthe pair of multipole magnets with a plurality of direct current (DC)drive signals; generating a continuously fluctuating magnetic field bydriving the pair of auxiliary electromagnets of each of the pair ofmultipole magnets with one or more alternating current (AC) drivesignals, wherein the continuously fluctuating magnetic field causes theion beam profile shape to change continuously to smooth a time-averagedion beam profile of the ion beam; directing the ion beam between a pairof second multipole magnets to collimate the ion beam; and directing thecollimated ion beam with the smoothed time-averaged ion beam profileonto a work piece.
 45. The method of claim 44, wherein the fluctuatingmagnetic field is strongest at a center point between the pair ofmultipole magnets and between the pair of auxiliary electromagnets ofeach of the pair of multipole magnets, and wherein the fluctuatingmagnetic field becomes increasingly weaker with distance from the centerpoint toward each of the pair of auxiliary electromagnets.
 46. Themethod of claim 44, wherein for a multipole magnet of the pair ofmultipole magnets: a first AC drive signal of the one or more AC drivesignals drives a first auxiliary electromagnet of the pair of auxiliaryelectromagnets; a second AC drive signal of the one or more AC drivesignals drives a second auxiliary electromagnet of the pair of auxiliaryelectromagnets; and the first AC drive signal is different from thesecond AC drive signal.
 47. The method of claim 44, wherein as the ionbeam enters between the pair of multipole magnets, the cross-section ofthe ion beam has a first long dimension and a first short dimensionperpendicular to the first long dimension, wherein as the ion beam exitsfrom between the pair of multipole magnets, the cross-section of the ionbeam has a second long dimension and a second short dimensionperpendicular to the second long dimension, and wherein the second longdimension is approximately equal to the first long dimension.